Sandro Ramirez will hand Everton a huge injury boost as he is reportedly expected to recover from a heel injury to face Manchester City on Monday night.
Ronald Koeman’s side travel to the Etihad Stadium as they look to upset the odds and secure all three points against Pep Guardiola’s City.
Injury expert Ben Dinnery, who has worked for Sky Sports and ESPN, claimed on his personal Twitter account that 22-year-old Ramirez should return to the Toffees side ahead of the final Premier League clash of the weekend.
Sandro is expected to recover from a minor heel injury while Koeman confirmed Sigurdsson will be involved at the Etihad this evening. #EFC
— Ben Dinnery (@BenDinnery) August 21, 2017
Summer signing Ramirez, who joined the club from La Liga outfit Malaga for a fee of around £5.2million, missed Everton’s clash against Hajduk Split in the Europa League on Thursday which the Toffees won 2-0.
However, he could now start alongside fellow new signing Gylfi Sigurdsson against City, with manager Koeman having plenty of decisions to make before fielding his starting eleven.
Ramirez’s return could see him start up front alongside Wayne Rooney, while Iceland international Sigurdsson will rival Davy Klaassen for a place in attacking midfield after the Dutchman’s impressive start to life on Merseyside.
The last time the two sides met was way back in January, when Everton surprised many to smash City 4-0 at Goodison Park. Romelu Lukaku, Kevin Mirallas, Tom Davies and Ademola Lookman all scored.
OPINION
Ramirez has impressed in a blue shirt since moving to the Toffees this summer, but he should start on the bench in what will be a tough test against Guardiola’s side. City come into the match after seeing off the challenge of newly-promoted Brighton by two goals to nil, and will be confident of another three points against Koeman’s new-look Toffees. Wayne Rooney is expected to start up front for Koeman’s side, with Sigurdsson likely to come in on the left flank rather than being used as a number 10. Klaassen will start in the attacking-midfield role instead, in what is likely to be a 4-2-3-1 system deployed by the former Southampton manager. The slot on the right wing is up for grabs, with Dom Calvert-Lewin, Kevin Mirallas and Lookman all likely to be vying for a place in the starting eleven.